Prisoners Serving Life Sentences

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the number of prisoners serving life sentences has increased in each of the past five years; what is the percentage increase over the whole period; and to what causes they attribute any increase.

Lord Filkin: The number of prisoners serving life sentences has increased in each of the past five years.
	The number of prisoners serving life sentences in June 1997 was 3,721. The number of prisoners serving life sentences in June 2002 was 5,147. This represents a total increase of 1,426.
	The percentage increase in the population of life sentenced prisoners between 1997 and 2002 is 38 per cent.

Prisoners Serving Life Sentences

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether, in the light of low reoffending by lifers released on parole, they consider that the Life Sentence Management Unit and the Parole Board are working effectively to move prisoners towards parole and re-entry into society.

Lord Filkin: I am satisfied that through the work of Lifer Unit, the Prison Service's responsibilities for progressing lifers towards release when it is safe to do so are being managed properly and effectively. In this, the independent Parole Board plays a key role through its assessments of a prisoner's risk.
	Individually and jointly, the Lifer Unit and the Parole Board continue to seek to improve the lifer review process. I am satisfied that the overall risk assessment and review processes continue to work to the benefit of the prisoner and to society as a whole.

Offenders: Pre-sentence Reports

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether pre-sentence reports on offenders are being delayed; and whether sentences are being passed without reports or deferred.

Lord Filkin: Several probation areas in England and Wales are currently experiencing difficulties with the timely delivery of pre-sentence reports to courts. As a consequence some hearings have been deferred and some sentences have been passed without a report, although information is not collected centrally on the number of cases involved. The reasons for the difficulties vary from area to area. Chief officers of probation have been given clear guidance on the prioritisation of reports to court and encouraged to work closely with sentencers locally to agree criteria for the provision of reports.

Asylum Seekers

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord Filkin on 5 February (WA 36) that 77 per cent of the 80,315 applicants for asylum in 2000 and 68 per cent of 71,365 applicants for asylum in 2001 were refused asylum and exceptional leave to remain, how many of those applicants had been removed from the United Kingdom by 31 January.

Lord Filkin: Information on the number of persons who were removed after unsuccessfully seeking asylum in 2000 and 2001 is not available except by examination of individual casefiles. This could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The number of asylum applicants removed from 2000 to September 2002 is given in the table.
	
		
			  2000 2001 January to September 2002 (p) 
			 Principal Applicants (1) 8,980 9,285 7,780 
			 Dependants (2) n/a 1,495(2) 1,825 
		
	
	(p) Provisional data subject to change.
	Figures are rounded the nearest five.
	(1) Includes persons departing "voluntarily" after enforcement action has been initiated against them and persons leaving under the assisted voluntary return programmes run by the IOM.
	(2) Data for dependants removed show only those removed from April 2001 onwards. Data on dependants were not collected prior to this date.
	Data on the number of asylum applicants removed in the final quarter of 2002 are due to be published at the end of February on the Home Office web-site: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/whatsnew1.html.

Anti-Money-Laundering Controls

Lord Greaves: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What statute-based rules now apply to the surveillance and reporting of activity in bank accounts belonging to individuals and to businesses; when the present rules were introduced; whether the surveillance and reporting of activity in bank accounts differs according to categories of people and businesses and assessed degrees of fraud and other offences; and whether the rules or practices in relation to Muslim individuals and Muslim-owned businesses, or those from predominantly Muslim countries, are in any ways different from those which apply to individuals and businesses in general.

Lord Filkin: Anti-money-laundering controls comprise a mixture of legal requirements and regulatory arrangements. The main primary and secondary legislation currently in force are the Drug Trafficking Act 1994, the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and the Money Laundering Regulations (1993 and 2001). The anti-money laundering regime will be strengthened when Part 7 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 comes into force on 24 February. This Act will require employees in the regulated financial sector to report transactions where they know, suspect or have reasonable grounds to know or suspect that a person is engaged in money laundering.
	In addition, the Terrorism Act 2000 provides that it is an offence for a person who in the course of a trade, profession, business or employment believes or suspects that a person has committed a terrorist fund-raising offence and does not disclose it to a constable. The Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 strengthened this provision so that it made it an offence for a regulated financial institution not to report a transaction where an employee "had reasonable grounds to suspect" it was the proceeds of, or intended for use in, a terrorist crime.
	None of this legislation discriminates between countries or individuals on religious, ethnic or cultural grounds.
	The only countries which are treated any differently in the above arrangements are the 15 identified by the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (the international standard setting organisation) as failing to comply with the international fight against money laundering. Financial institutions have a duty to pay attention to the list of these countries when considering whether a transaction is suspicious. The countries in question are: Burma, the Cook Islands, Egypt, Grenada, Guatemala, Indonesia, Nauru, Nigeria, Philippines, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Ukraine.
	Under the Proceeds of Crime Act, constables, customs officers and financial investigators accredited under the Act will also be able to apply for court orders to obtain information on bank accounts and to monitor transaction details. Such powers are already in place in respect of terrorist funding. Police and Customs officers may also use powers under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 to obtain financial information in their investigation of acquisitive offences.

Rape

Lord Campbell-Savours: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What assessment has been made of the amount of police time that is wasted arising out of false allegations of rape.

Lord Filkin: Rape is an extremely serious offence, and it is right that the police should be prepared to investigate any complaint made to them.
	The Home Office has conducted limited research into the reasons that rape allegations were withdrawn (Home Office Research Study 196), but this study did not attempt to quantify the impact of cases where it was felt that the allegations were false.
	There is a clear difficulty in obtaining information about false allegations because of the need to make a subjective judgment about whether or not complaints that are withdrawn or found to be ungrounded are also false. There may be clear evidence in certain instances that false allegations were made, but this is likely to apply in a minority of cases.
	There is a range of offences to deal with those who might seek to pursue false allegations, including the offences of perverting the course of justice, wasting police time and perjury.

Rape

Lord Campbell-Savours: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What consideration they have given to the work of Carol Sarler on the issue of raising rape conviction rates by introducing a new charge of date rape.

Lord Filkin: The Sexual Offences Bill follows a major review of the criminal law on sexual offences, which looked at a wide range of the very numerous authorities on sex offences and sex offenders, as listed in Annex K of volume 2 of Setting the Boundaries. The review process involved consideration of a significant number of reports and research studies and included a comparison with the laws of a number of other countries, including Australia and New Zealand. Carol Sarler's work was not considered as part of the review process, but we are satisfied that the review was comprehensive and thorough and the question of whether there should be a separate offence of date rape is one that was considered in detail and properly rejected by the review.
	We believe that the offence of rape cannot be divided into more or less serious offences. It can be just as traumatic to be raped by someone you know, especially in view of the breach of trust that is involved, as to be raped by a stranger who sexually assaults the first man or woman who passes by. The crime of rape is so serious that it needs to be considered in its totality rather than being constrained by any relationship between the parties. The issue of severity of the offence should be left to the judges on sentencing, rather than attempting to deal with it by creating a separate offence.
	This view is supported by the Sentencing Advisory Panel in its recently published guidelines on sentencing in cases of rape.

Rape

Lord Campbell-Savours: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many times the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority has paid compensation in rape cases in each of the past three years; and
	How many times recipients of compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority have been prosecuted for false claims following the making of rape allegations which subsequently turn out to be false.

Lord Filkin: The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority has provided the following information about compensation awards made for non-consensual vaginal or anal intercourse in the last three financial years:
	
		
			 Financial Year Number of Awards 
			 1999–2000 1,437 
			 2000–01 1,390 
			 2001–02 1,336 
		
	
	The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority will refer to the police any case where it suspects that a false claim has been made and co-operate in the police investigation of any such allegation. I understand that the authority has identified two cases in recent years where following an application for compensation for rape there was a prosecution on the grounds that the claim was false.

Turkey: Imrali Island Prison

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will ask the Turkish Government to respond to the Council of Europe's Committee on the Prevention of Torture concerning conditions in Imrali Island Prison and any other relevant outstanding issues raised by the committee.

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: Her Majesty's Government have no plans expressly to ask the Turkish Government to respond to the Council of Europe's Committee on the Prevention of Torture concerning conditions in Imrali Island Prison. There are already encouraging signs of closer co-operation between the new Turkish Government and the Council of Europe, including the Committee on the Prevention of Torture, most recently in Prime Minister Gul's speech to the Parliamentary Assembly on 27 January 2003; but also in a pattern of co-operation with the Committee on the Prevention of Torture.
	We do, however, raise human rights issues with Turkey at regular intervals, for instance during an ongoing human rights dialogue, the last round of which took place in London on 26 November 2002.

Household Waste

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs contribution will be to the recycling and composting of household waste.

Lord Whitty: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is responsible for the policy framework within which local authorities manage household waste, including recycling and composting. The department has a number of functions associated with that policy framework. These include:
	setting statutory performance standards for recycling and composting which individual local authorities must deliver by 2003–04 and 2005–06;
	sponsoring the Waste and Resources Action Programme—a company established by government to help to promote sustainable waste management through tackling market barriers to recycling and removing barriers to waste minimisation, reuse and recycling;
	administering funds that are designed to assist local authorities in delivering sustainable waste management solutions over and above the general revenue support grant that is provided in the Local Government Finance Settlement. These funds include a waste minimisation and recycling challenge fund (£140 million for 2002–03 and 2003–04) and £355 million of local private finance initiative (PFI) resources.

Farming Subsidies

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the proposals for changes to the system of farming subsidies announced on 22 January, how many farms which have an income above the threshold for a cut in subsidy of 12.5 to 19 per cent do not have a profit level sufficient to absorb the subsidy cut without making a loss.

Lord Whitty: The proposals announced on 22 January form a complex package of measures. A significant part of the package is the proposal to decouple the majority of the subsidy payments from production and to create a "single farm payment". This decoupling will permit farm businesses to restructure in order to achieve business profitability exclusive of the new income payment. In addition, the proposals allow for the recycling of a share of the modulated funds to producers for rural development.
	The specific nature of farm business restructuring as a result of decoupling will depend on producers' preferences and their responses to market signals. Furthermore the modulation rates of 12.5 and 19 per cent will not be reached until 2012, around a decade hence. For these reasons it is not feasible to give reliable estimates of the effect on farm profits.

Job Retention and Rehabilitation Pilot

Lord Graham of Edmonton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In which location the job retention and rehabilitation pilot will operate.

Baroness Hollis of Heigham: The Department for Work and Pensions together with the Department of Health and appropriate Scottish Executive officials are currently preparing for the implementation of job retention and rehabilitation pilot in April 2003 in Birmingham, Greater Glasgow, Sheffield, Tyneside, Teesside and West Kent.
	This research pilot will evaluate the impact of innovative strategies involving health and workplace interventions. The aim is to help employed and self-employed people who have been off work sick for over six weeks return to and remain in work. Pilot service providers will market the pilot throughout local communities including health professionals and employers to raise awareness and encourage people to volunteer. The pilot will operate in the following post code locations:
	Birmingham
	For people who live and work in:
	ALL B codes (except the following: B80 7, B95 6, B49 6, B49 5, B50 4)
	CV1–CV13
	CV31–CV32
	CV34–CV35
	DY1–DY3
	DY5–DY13
	DE11–DE15
	ST16
	ST17
	ST18 9
	ST19
	TF1–TF5
	TF7
	TF11
	WR1 1
	WR1 2
	WR1 3
	WR2 4
	WR2 5
	WR2 6
	WR3 7
	WR3 8
	WR4 9
	WR4 0
	WR5 1
	WR5 2
	WR9 0
	WR9 7
	WR9 8
	WR9 9
	WS all codes
	WV1–WV15
	Glasgow
	For people who live and work in:
	G1–G83
	ML1–ML9
	PA 1–PA 14
	FK1
	FK4
	FK6
	Sheffield
	For people who live in S1 to S81 and work in:
	S1–S81
	LS1–LS29
	BD1–BD23
	WF1–WF17
	HD1–HD9
	SK1–SK23
	NG1–NG34
	DE1–DE73
	DN1–DN22
	Teesside
	For people who live and work in:
	TS1–TS29
	Tyneside
	For people who live and work in:
	NE1–NE13
	NE15–NE17
	NE21
	NE23
	NE25–NE40
	West Kent
	For people who live and work in:
	BR all codes
	CR0
	CR2
	CR3 0
	CR4
	CR6–CR8
	DA all codes
	ME6
	ME14–ME16
	ME18–ME20
	TN1–TN4
	TN8–TN11
	TN12 5
	TN12 6
	TN12 7
	TN13–TN16
	E1 6
	E1 7
	E1 8
	E1W 1
	E1W 2
	EC1–EC4
	SW1–SW6
	SW8–SW20
	W1
	W4
	W6
	W8
	W14
	WC1–WC2
	SE all codes
	SM1–SM6

Hospital Infections

Lord Morris of Manchester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What statistics they have for the number and types of hospital infections in each of the past seven years for hospital staffs and patients respectively.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: National data on hospital infections are limited and it is for this reason that we are developing a new national compulsory surveillance system for healthcare associated infection. The first phase of this new surveillance system, on methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus blood stream infections, was introduced in April 2001. All acute trusts now collect this information and it is the first time that baseline data have been available. The results for the first year of this scheme (April 2001 to March 2002) for every National Health Service acute trust in England were published in the Communicable Disease Report (CDR) Weekly on 20 June 2002. These are available on the Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) website www.phls.co.uk/publications/ccdr/PDFfiles/2002/cdr2502.pdf.
	The second phase of compulsory surveillance will be introduced shortly and will collect information on other micro-organisms and incidents such as outbreaks of infection.
	The PHLS has voluntary reporting systems for a range of pathogenic organisms but as these systems do not distinguish between cases acquired in hospital and those acquired elsewhere they cannot be used to look at trends in hospital acquired infection.
	The PHLS also has a voluntary reporting system for gastro-enteritis that identifies outbreaks in hospital and a report General outbreaks of infectious intestinal disease (IID) in hospitals, England and Wales, 1992–2000 was published in the Journal of Hospital Infection (2003) 53: 1–5.
	Information from the Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Service (NINSS) on hospital acquired bacteraemia and surgical site infections is available in the following reports: Surveillance of surgical site infection in English hospitals 1997–2001 NINSS PHLS 2002; Surveillance of hospital acquired bacteraemia in English hospitals 1997–2001 NINSS PHLS 2002. http://www.phls.co.uk/publications/ninss.htm
	The PHLS collects and publishes data on occupational exposure to blood borne viruses. The results of the surveillance from 1 July 1997 to 30 June 2002 have been published on the PHLS website. http://www.phls.co.uk/topics az/bbv/pdf/5year analysis.pdf A total of 1,550 intial reports of occupational exposures to one or more blood borne viruses were received. One case of seroconversion to HIV and three cases of seroconversion to hepatitis C (one reported retrospectively) have been reported so far.

Hospital Discharges

Baroness Barker: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Which parts of the Hospital Discharge Workbook will form the only replacement for existing statutory guidance.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: It is our intention to issue official guidance to coincide with the implementation of the Community Care (Delayed Discharges etc) Bill. The guidance will include a number of the principles underlying the good practice guidance contained in Discharge from Hospital: Pathway, Process and Practice.

Protection of Vulnerable Adults List

Baroness Greengross: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When the protection of vulnerable adults list was introduced.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The protection of vulnerable adults list has yet to be introduced.

Ebixa

Lord Ashley of Stoke: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will encourage the National Institute for Clinical Excellence to assess the medical drug Ebixa for use by patients with Alzheimer's disease; and
	What discussion they have had, or intend to have, with the Alzheimer Society about the use of Ebixa for patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The Government are currently considering whether the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) should appraise memantine (Ebixa) as part of its eighth wave of work.
	The Alzheimer's Society has put its views to the Government about the use of memantine for people with Alzheimer's disease.

Nursing Care Homes

Lord Ashley of Stoke: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will ensure that payments of nursing care money to patients with dementia are made directly to them and their carers rather than to the nursing home; and
	What steps they are taking to prevent nursing home owners from failing to pass on nursing care payments to residents; and
	What results have emerged from the National Care Standards Commission's regulations that nursing care homes are obliged to provide a breakdown of fees.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Regardless of the condition someone has, the National Health Service makes payments to care homes as a contribution for the registered nursing care that they provide to eligible residents. The NHS either provides itself or pays others to provide them on its behalf. Many providers have adjusted the fee payable by the resident to take account of the additional state funding. A model contract, issued by the Department of Health in March 2002, requires that these be accounted for separately.
	Following a separate consultation in June 2002 on amending the Care Homes Regulations, a revised draft was included as part of a wider consultation on NHS funded nursing care on 20 December 2002, the closing date for which was 31 January. The comments on this are being considered at the moment.
	The findings of the National Care Standards Commission's monitoring of National Minimum Standard 2 since April 2002, which requires care homes to provide service users with a contract and statement of terms and conditions, will be available at the end of this financial year. The commission will, of course, be responsible for monitoring service providers' compliance with any amendments to the Care Home Regulations.

Belfast Agreement

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Privy Seal on 9 January (WA 230), who were the "political parties ... who remained at the conclusion of the talks and made clear their support for the [Belfast] agreement".

Lord Williams of Mostyn: The political parties who remained at the conclusion of the talks leading to the Belfast agreement and made clear their support for it were Alliance, Labour, the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition, the Progressive Unionist Party, Sinn Fein, the Social Democratic and Labour Party, the Ulster Democratic Party and the Ulster Unionist Party; though in some cases their support on the day was subject to subsequent consultation with party colleagues.

Belfast Agreement

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Privy Seal on 9 January (WA 230), who are the legal parties to the Belfast agreement.

Lord Williams of Mostyn: The Belfast agreement is a political agreement between the British Government, the Irish Government and those Northern Irish political parties represented at the talks concluded on 10 April 1998. Certain provisions within it are given legal force by the Northern Ireland Act 1998; and by the British-Irish Agreement.

Police Service of Northern Ireland

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Who appointed the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission to act as human rights advisers to the Police Service of Northern Ireland; when this was done; and why.

Lord Williams of Mostyn: Section 69(6) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 requires that the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission shall promote understanding and awareness of the importance of human rights in Northern Ireland.
	The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) consults a range of bodies with expertise in human rights and equality issues on the preparation of key documents from time to time; this includes the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission.
	PSNI has not appointed a human rights adviser, although a lawyer with specific expertise in the field of human rights was appointed to the staff of the police legal services, as recommended in the Patten report in October 2001.

Police Service of Northern Ireland

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Why the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission was unrepresented at the graduation of the Police Service of Northern Ireland on 23 August 2003.

Lord Williams of Mostyn: I understand that no commissioner was available to attend the Police Service of Northern Ireland graduation ceremony.

Police Service of Northern Ireland

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will place in the Library of the House any letters that they have sent to Northern Ireland Members of Parliament concerning 50:50 recruitment to the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Lord Williams of Mostyn: Correspondence between Government Ministers and individuals is considered private and in confidence unless the recipient chooses to release it to the public.
	It would therefore be inappropriate to place the letters requested by the noble Lord in the Library of the House.

Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission is developing a strategy for the United States; what is its statutory basis; and whether the commission has consulted the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Lord Williams of Mostyn: This is a matter for the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission. The Chief Commissioner has been asked to write to the noble Lord. A copy of his letter will be placed in the Library of the House. Click here to view the letter.

Dungannon: Schools and Pupil Numbers

Lord Kilclooney: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many of the pupils at Dungannon Integrated College are designated as (a) Protestant; (b) Roman Catholic; and (c) other.

Lord Williams of Mostyn: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
			 Protestant 166 
			 Roman Catholic 261 
			 Other 34 
			   
			 Total 461

Dungannon: Schools and Pupil Numbers

Lord Kilclooney: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many pupils and boarders there are enrolled in the Royal School, Dungannon; and what were the equivalent numbers five years ago.

Lord Williams of Mostyn: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			  Enrolment Boarders 
			 1997–98 646 35 
			 2002–03 648 43

Dungannon: Schools and Pupil Numbers

Lord Kilclooney: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many pupils are enrolled at each primary school in the local authority area of Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council; and what were the equivalent numbers five years ago.

Lord Williams of Mostyn: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			 School Name Enrolment 1997–98 Enrolment 2002–03 
			 Aughamullan PS 62 50 
			 Augher Central PS 51 42 
			 Aughnacloy PS 97 108 
			 Ballygawley PS 68 49 
			 Benburb PS 41 32 
			 Bush PS 98 169 
			 Carntall PS 66 78 
			 Castlecaulfield (No 2) PS 99 95 
			 Churchill PS 46 45 
			 Clintyclay PS 29 37 
			 Clogher Regional PS 41 31 
			 Derrylatinee PS 112 88 
			 Donaghmore PS 40 44 
			 Dungannon PS 184 173 
			 Edendork PS 288 285 
			 Eglish PS 31 23 
			 Fivemiletown PS 151 171 
			 Gaelscoil UI Neill 21 84 
			 Granville PS 41 19 
			 Howard PS 313 241 
			 Innismagh PS 58 43 
			 Killyman PS 84 85 
			 Laghey PS 67 41 
			 Lisfearty PS 37 53 
			 Minterburn PS 48 36 
			 Newmills PS 102 73 
			 Primate Dixon PS 561 491 
			 Roan PS 49 64 
			 St Brigid's PS, Augher 79 53 
			 St Brigid's PS, Coalisland 167 125 
			 St John's PS, Moy 172 180 
			 St John's PS, Coalisland 148 102 
			 St Joseph's PS, Caledon 52 41 
			 St Joseph's PS, Galbally 154 164 
			 St Macartan's PS 87 84 
			 St Mary's PS, Aughnacloy 53 60 
			 St Mary's PS, Ballygawley 105 94 
			 St Mary's PS, Lisnagowan, Dungannon 55 67 
			 St Mary's PS, Whites Road, Dungannon 177 168 
			 St Mary's PS, Fivemiletown 66 41 
			 St Patrick's PS, Killyman Road, Dungannon 604 542 
			 St Patrick's PS, Augher 67 60 
			 St Patrick's PS, Coalisland 244 218 
			 St Patrick's PS, Pomeroy Road, Dungannon 230 177 
			 St Malachy's PS, Glencull 70 52 
			 Tamnamore PS 57 46 
			 Walker Memorial PS 95 70 
			 Windmill Integrated PS 153 196

Parliamentary Estate: Waste

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: asked the Chairman of Committees:
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord Tordoff on 18 December 2001 (WA 35), whether the total waste produced by the Parliamentary Estate was reduced in the year 2001–02.

Lord Brabazon of Tara: The total waste generated in 2001–02 was 1,279 tonnes, a reduction of 14.3 per cent compared with the figure for 2000–01 (1,493 tonnes).

Parliamentary Estate: Paper Recycling

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: asked the Chairman of Committees:
	Whether the House of Lords takes part in the paper recycling scheme run by BioRegional, which is in operation in the House of Commons; and, if so, whether the recycled product is available for use by Members of the Lords; and
	Whether every office in the House of Lords has, or should have, facilities for recycling white paper and other paper.

Lord Brabazon of Tara: All waste paper from the Parliamentary Estate can be recycled by means of the recycling bins in facilities rooms. In addition, a programme is now under way to install recycling bins in every office across the Estate.
	The House purchases paper from various suppliers selected on the basis of value for money and reliability of service. Paper supplied to photocopiers and printers is 100 per cent recyclable. I understand that the House of Commons authorities purchase recycled paper that has been specified by BioRegional. However, waste paper from both Houses is recycled by other contractors.

Parliamentary Estate: Energy Consumption

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: asked the Chairman of Committees:
	What was the energy consumption of the Parliamentary Estate for the financial year 2001–02; whether there is a set target to reduce this consumption; and, if so, what are the targets for 2003–04 and 2004–05.

Lord Brabazon of Tara: Energy consumption for 2001–02 was 53.5 million kW hr. The current works to modernise the main boiler and chiller plant in the Palace of Westminster will bring significant improvements in plant efficiency. When the commissioning data are available from the new equipment, targets for future consumption can be set.

Elected Regional Assemblies: Representations

Lord Smith of Leigh: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How they intend to judge the representations about whether English regions will be in the first round of referendums for elected regional assemblies.

Lord Evans of Temple Guiting: On 2 December the Government launched a soundings exercise on the level of interest in each English region (outside London) in holding a referendum about establishing an elected regional assembly. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is asking for views, information and evidence from people in each region, including local authorities, MPs, MEPs, regional chambers and others. Responses are requested by 3 March 2003.
	My right honourable friend the Deputy Prime Minister will consider carefully all views, information and evidence put to him in response to the soundings exercise before deciding in which regions he considers that there is interest in holding a referendum. He will also take into account such published information as he thinks appropriate.

Brownfield Land Developments: Yorkshire

Lord Hardy of Wath: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the area of brownfield land which has been developed in the county of South Yorkshire and in the Yorkshire region in 2002 and since 1997.

Lord Evans of Temple Guiting: Reliable regional figures are currently available for 1997 to 2000 only. These figures show that, in this time period, around 400 hectares of vacant and derelict land were developed in South Yorkshire. The total for the Government Office Region of Yorkshire and the Humber was around 1,200 hectares developed over the same period.